Some shots of three very different shops surrounding Melbourne CBD.
leather saddles
cool bike, Little Mule. Melbourne
Pony Bikes workshop
Mike Giant
BIKE BAR
47 Chapel St Fitzroy
About 70 kms North West of Melbourne you’ll find the small town of Woodend. I had ridden there a few years back and knew of a fairly extensive network of trails located just out of town. It is close enough to the city that you can turn it into a pretty easy day trip so we thought it would be worth checking out. We tackled a solid 20 km loop through thick bushland in about an hour and a half. Well signposted, some nice single track and a few features dotted throughout made it pretty fun little ride, great for the quick mission!
Spent a little bit of time playing around with the camera too!
Now the rides were getting a little more serious. 2 Days away at Mt Buller resort 3 1/2 hours out of Melbourne and into some real mountains. Mount Buller, a ski hill in winter and mountain bike resort in summer…perfect.It has always had a pretty strong downhill following, hosting a number of state and national racing events over the years but because of the bikes we are riding we were more interested in the xc singletrack network that had recently been put in. Although or bikes could handle the punishment of the downhill course its just not the same as riding it on a squishy dh rig!!!! oh well, next time!
Arriving at lunchtime, we were greeted with perfect weather to explore the mountain, the stonefly trail to Mount Stirling was first on the list.
Radbike going native
The rigs at the ready
First rocky descent….and tear my recently tublessefied (not a word) rear tire….in goes the tube
The map supplied was good….a little confusing at times but we made it
Cal getting his shred on over some buff single track
Beautiful switch back climb, the recent rainfall has made everything uber green
Eric in some trees
Would ya just have a look at that!
One and only waterfall crossing on the Stonefly
First view from the top
Mt Stirling summit
Ghostly snow gums dwarfed by giant Callum
Top third of the epic descent down Stirling…worth the climb
Candys and Beer….the only way to truly recover from a ride
The history of Eric and Paul. Couloir Ski and Bike/ Rad Bike/ Outside bike and Ski, Mt Buller road
Epic Day!!! headed down the hill to a nice little campground we found a couple years ago. Big trees, a flowing river and some cold beers! a perfect way to end the first sesh.
Sheep yard flat
Disappointing axe fail
Early rise for day two….with bacon
We decided for the second day to make use of the shuttle service from Mirimbah at the bottom of the mountain to the top and session some of the longer descents. We also managed to squeeze in a lap of the new ‘flow’ dh trail they had built called Copperhead. A fast consistent gradient and narrow single track made these converted hiking trails actually pretty fun…and fast. Both routes down are fun, one classed as a black (more difficult) and the other blue (moderately difficult) which allows for all levels of rider to take advantage of the trails. Such a great couple days at Buller, make the trip if you can!
Pick up point at the Mirimbah General Store
All the log bridges on this trail (maybe 12 of them) were washed out in huge floods that came through the area.
The final river crossing on the Delatite trail, quite refreshing after some high speed double track descent. Considered a blue trail, a good rider can easily hit 60km per hour making it….well sketchy!
Lysterfield Mountain bike park is located North East of Melbourne about a 40 minute drive from the city. A decent little network of well sign posted trails that weave through native bushland. The host of the 2006 Commonwealth Games Xc races, Lysterfield offers some good little climbs and some flowy downhills. We did find some of the trails fairly basic, built more for sustainability than for fun but still good to get out on the bike regardless.
Callum already lost after all of 20 metres of trail.
The start of the Commonwealth Games track
More beautiful views
Ran into a bunch of these guys on the trail…..Australia!!
Heading across the park..Callum
Follow Me trail
Eric and a corner.